Call registering mechanism for elevator systems



June 6, 1950 J. D! GIOVANNI 2,510,871

CALL REGISTERING MECHANISM FOR ELEVATOR SYSTEMS Original Filed July 24, 1945 zow/v CONT/Q01.

INVENTOR. JOSEPH DI GIOVANNI ATTORNEY Patented June 6, 1950 CALL REGISTERING MECHANISM FOR ELEVATOR SYSTEMS Joseph Di Giovanni, Fairview, N. 1., assignor to United Elevator Service, Inc., New York, Y.

Original application July 24, 1945, Serial No. 606,825. Dividedand this application June 4, 19.49,. Serial No. 97,202

12 Claims. I

The present invention relates to. an elevator system. in which the elevator car automatically responds to a call impressed either in the car itself or in the hallway and more particularly to a call registering mechanism used therein.

The present invention is a division of. my copending application Ser. No 606,825, filed by me July 24, 1945' for Selector mechanism which has issued as Pat. No. 2,489,124 and. which co-pending' application was itself a division of Pat. Not 2,384,986 granted to me September 18, 1945, for Elevator system.

Said application Ser. No. 606,825 discloses a selector mechanism thatv is preferably used in the practice of the present invention and which eliminates relay coils and replaces them with electronic. valves that are in normally nonregistering call condition.

In said patent from Which said co-pending application was divided, I'il'lustrated and claimed an elevator system having means for controlling the motion of an elevator car between the floors of the buildings serviced by it and its combination with a fi'oor selector mechanism.

The present application contemplates the provision of a specific call registering mechanism for the movable car of the elevator system therein claimed and illustrated and which, ii desired,may utilize the selector mechanism thereof.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a call registering mechanism for an elevator car having a gas filled tube for. each floor in the building serviced by the car to which the car is called by the call registering mechanism and which tubes are normally maintained in nonconducting or non-firing condition.

The present invention contemplates the provisionv of such a call registering mechanism in which a bank or plurality of electronic trigger tubes is provided, one tube. for each landing, and 40 in which each tube. is fired to become conducting. and thereby to initiate movement of the. elevator car to the landing served by the tube that is fired and in which all tubes remain in conductin condition until the elevator car is moved to the landingserved by the particular tube.

These, other and iurther objects and advantages of the present invention will be clear from the following description and the drawing which is by way of illutration thereof, and in which drawing The figure in a. schematic wiring diagram of the call registering circuit and. direction control circuit according; to my invention.

Reference is made to Pat; No. 2,384,986 and 2. to Pat. No. 2,489,124 for illustration of wiring diagrams and the like, and a remote control selector which may be used the practice of the withinv invention.

In the drawing, for a clearer understanding of my invention and to make it correspond to the drawings and description in said patent and in said co-pending application, I use the following symbols to identify conventional elements used therewith and which are shown with all switch contacts. in the position that they would assume when the car is at rest. in the elevator system with which my call registering mechanism is used.

ADPAuXiliary down pilotswitch coil ADPlContacts on auxiliary down pilot switch ASM-Auxil-iary stop magnet switch coil AUP-Auxiliary up pilot switch coil AUP l-Contacts on auxiliary up pilot switch BRI etc.-Resistors in floor valve circuit CHI-Contacts on cancelling relay DM5-C'ontact on down motion switch FTerminal point.

FVl etc.--Floor valves FVRI etc.-Resistors on floor valves GTerminal point GR! etc.Grid resistors- L lOne side of line L2Other side of line LRI etc.-Line resistors PB l etc.Push buttons in car or hall Rt etc-Resistors SFI etc.Selector fingers SFDSelector lower terminal finger SFU'Selector upper terminal contact SM IContacts on stop switch SSCI etc.Selector cam contacts UM5Contacts on up motion switch VI' and V2--Electronic valves; in direction determining circuit Referring now to the drawing, the selector mechanism, the cam I0 of which oscillates between the selector fmger for the lower terminal SFD and the selector finger for the upper terminal SFU, and which is used to register and hold a call at the floor served by an elevator car, is known inthe art as a floor selector.

The selector used with the present invention for the illustration thereof is not mechanically connected to the elevator car, which is operated: and controlled through it, but is arranged as a. unit in a relatively small housing occupying a comparatively small space and which housing may be placed in any convenient available part of the building. For a more detailed description 3 of the selector with which the present invention may be used and the elevator system in which they may be utilized, reference is made to the said patent and to the said co-pending application.

A bank of fioor valves FVI to WT, which are preferably gaseous tetrode electronic tubes, are mounted on the selector mechanism housing, and register and collect all calls for the elevator car that are made for movement of the car in either direction.

In the illustration given, seven fioor landings are serviced though it will be understood that my invention will service more or less than this number. The electric elements of my invention are connected in the main circuit between one side of the line LI and the other side of the line L2.

It will be understood of course that only so much of an elevator system is illustrated and explained as will be necessary for an understanding of the call registering circuit of the present invention, a complete system being shown and illustrated in my said patent.

The grid of each floor valve FV l etc. is normally in non-conducting condition, that is, when a call is not registered, the floor valve is maintained at a negative voltage in relation to the tube cathode.

In describing the circuits by means of which a call is registered and movement of the car initiated and stopped, the numeral of each reference character refers to the floor that corresponds to the element being referred to, for example, FVI refers .to the electronic valve for the first floor and SFI refers to the selector finger corresponding to the first floor.

The grid of each floor valve is connected to the negative side of the line L2 through a grid resistor and a line resistor, for example, the valve for the first or lowest floor FVI through the grid resistor GR! and the line resistor LRI.

When a push button is pressed to close a circuit for the fioor, either in the hall or the car, for example, the push button for the first floor PBI, the line L! is connected to the grid of the floor valve FVI through the resistor BRI.

As pointed out before, the grid of each tube is normally maintained at a negative voltage with relation to the cathode and therefore is not normally conductive. However, upon pushing a button PB (for example PBI), the grid of the 60 corresponding fioor valve FVI is made positive in relation to the cathode and then the valve becomes conductive, that is, it is fired, so that current flows through the fioor valve and the resistor FVR! which is electrically connected to 65 the terminal l2 of the selector finger SFI.

With electronic tubes of the type here used the grid remains positive with respect to the cathode and therefore continues to fire so that current through the tube continues to flow once the valve has been triggered, even though the push button has thereafter been released, until the plate circuit is again opened to permit the grid to be again negatively biased to control the tube by thereby reducing it to non-firing or non-conducting condition.

The circuit for the down direction is completed through the selector lower terminal finger SFD, resistances R6 and RH] and for the up direction is completed through the selector for the upper terminal contact SFU, the resistances R1 and Bill.

The direction in which the elevator car will travel in response to a call is determined by the 4 function in combination with the selector and which circuits, include the direction determining valves Vi and V2, which also are preferably tetrode electronic tubes of the trigger type and which are normally maintained in non-conducting condition.

In order to maintain the valves VI and V2 in a normal non-firing or non-conducting condition, the grids thereof are also normally maintained at a negative potential with respect to 'the cathode of the tube.

However, the grids of these tubes immediately become positive with relation to the cathode thereof when a circuit is completed through the selector and the particular floor valve upon closing a push button corresponding thereto.

Which one of the direction determining valves VI and V2 that will be fired, to become conducting is determined by the position of the selector cam it] in relation to the button that is pushed.

To illustrate the operation of my invention, assume that the elevator car is positioned at the fourth floor or landing of the building whereat the center contact $802 of the cam ll! engages the follower E4 of the finger SP4, thereby raising it from the terminal I6 of the succeeding finger SFS.

Concurrently, the follower ill of the preceding finger SF3 has been engaged by the cam ill to raise the finger SP3 from the terminal 20 of the finger SP4.

Thus, the center contact SS2 of the cam I0 is thereby isolated, which center contact, has electrically secured to it a lead wire 2!.

Assume now that button PBS (which is the push button for the landing at the sixth floor either in the hall or in the car) is pushed to call or send the elevator car to the sixth floor landing. A circuit will thereby be completed from one side of the line Ll through FVfi, FVRB, SFB (it being recognized that since SFA is raised from off of SP5, a circuit below the position of the car, that is, below the fourth floor through the valve I, is broken by the selector cam ii] and the elevator car can thus only be called to floors above the fourth floor), SFT, SFU and through the resistances R1 and RH] to L2.

The grid of the direction determining valve V2, which is connected to this line through the terminal G, becomes positive in relation to the cathode of V2 to fire that valve and so complete a circuit through the auxiliary pilot coil AUP, the energizing of which controls the contacts AUPI.

It will of course be understood that calls for the fifth and seventh floors may also be registered by triggering or firing the floor valve FV for those floors. It will also be recognized that calls below the fourth floor may also be registered in the same manner as previously described by pressing the corresponding push buttons to make the respective floor valves conductive.

The calls above the fourth floor are isolated from the calls below that floor by the action of the cam H) on the fingers SF4 and SF3, the car going in that direction controlled by which one of the valves VI or V2 is fired, which will be determined by which coil AUP or ADP has been first energized.

Since coil AUP has been thus energized (first in point of time in the assumed example) contact AUP! in the circuit of the screened grid of the valve VI is opened so that that valve cannot be fired and so cannot be made conductive.

interlocking direction determining circuits which I Therefore, any calls below the fourth floor cannot be, responded to until the circuit through valve V2 is broken by the car responding to the up direction call, as will be described, although all calls below the fourth floor or below the car, when the call is registered, will be held as they are registered because the floor valves for any floor will continue to conduct once they have been fired by pressing the push button corresponding to that floor.

It will be further recognized that so long as value V2 conducts any call above the position of the car, when the call is registered, will cause the car to respond thereto until these calls have been cancelled to make valve V2 non-conducting. When this happens, coil AUP is deenergized, which returns the contact AU'Pi to its normal closed condition and thereby permits valve VI to fire and become conductive (assuming that calls have been registered below the car), which opens contact ADPI.

This opens the circuit of the screen grid of valve V2 so that now it cannot be fired thereby determining the down direction of the car in response to any calls registered at a, landing or floor below the car.

For an understanding of the operation of an elevator system having elements that may combine with the present invention, reference is made to my said patent and my said co-pending application, as it is unnecessary to repeat the drawings and description thereof, it being understood that the elevator car will leave the fourth floor or landing upon pressing PBS.

Operation of the selector mechanism moves the cam l away from the finger SE5 into engagement with the finger SP5, but Since the floor valve FV5 for that floor has not been fired and therefore is not conductive, the car will not stop at the fifth floor but proceeds to the sixth floor because, as will be recognized, the auxiliary stop magnet coil ASM will not be energized.

When the cam l0 engages the finger 8%, the follower 22 of that finger is lifted from engagement with the terminal 24 of the finger SFS thereby isolating the cam l8 and so the coil ASM from a live circuit through the triggered fioor valve FV8. Thus, the elevator car must proceed to the next floor because the coil ASM is not energized.

As the car is moved to the sixth floor and before it reaches that floor, the earn it? is moved by the selector mechanism into position in engagement with SF6 and I shall now describe the action of the cam it in approaching and reaching this position.

In the sequence of operation, contact S803 of the cam H3 engages the follower 26 of the finger SE6 but does not raise it about its pivot or terminal 24. Valve FVB and any floor valve above it, that has been fired and so made conductive, maintains a current through lead 2|, resistance R5 t the other side of the line L2, this latter circuit in effect being a bypassing circuit.

Further motion of the cam It, raises the follower 26 of the finger SF'B from the terminal 28 of the finger SP1 to isolate the latter from SFB. A circuit is now made through the follower 26 and the center contact 8802 of the cam I0, it being recognized that the floor valve FVt has been triggered.

It will be understood that the cam 19 is so arranged that oontact is made with SSC2 before contact is broken with S803 so that the circuit through the valve FVS is preserved and registration of the call maintained.

Further movement of the cam ill breaks contact with SSC3 to thereby isolate the contact S802 and permit energizing of coil ASM.

In the circuit in which the auxiliary stop switch magnet coil ASM is arranged, I provide a normally closed contact SMI which is opened by energizing a stop switch, as explained in my said patent.

To recapitulate, when the cam ID was positioned at the fourth floor, finger SP3, as pointed out, was isolated by the cam from finger SE4. Further movement of the cam to the position corresponding to the next fioor releases finger SP3 to bring it into contact with finger SFI, which latter is then isolated from finger SF5. When the cam is brought into engagement with SF6, finger SP5 is then raised from engagement with SFS so that any calls below the sixth floor are held through the circuit formed by the selector fingers below SFE, SFD and resistances R6 and Rid.

When the selector reaches its position in engagement with SE5 (it being recognized that this is accomplished before the elevator car reaches the sixth iloor) a circuit is made through FVG, SP8, S802 and coil ASM (stop switch contacts SM! being closed).

The manner in which the elevator car is stopped and the doors thereof opened and closed is described in detail in my said patent, which description need not hereby be repeated except to point out that the contacts SM! are opened to break the circuit through the coil ASM after the car has been stopped.

Nor will it be necessary to repeat the operation of my elevator system in response to a call above or below the sixth floor, it being only necessary to point out that the proper one of the direction finding valves Vi or V2 may have been triggered and thus remain conducting Or the particular floor valve may have been triggered and thus remain conducting. Further, contact SSCI is electrically connected to contact SSC3 and serves the same purpose as the latter when the motion of the cam iii corresponds to the down motion of the car.

For operation of the up and down resetting switch coils which control the contacts RRDE} and RRU3, reference is made to my said patent.

I have only shown such details as are required for an understanding of my invention, reference being made to the drawings, and descriptions of my said patent and co-pending application in the light of which the present application should be read.

While I have shown in some detail a specific embodiment of my invention, I do not intend to be limited thereto but desire to claim my invention as broadly as the appended claims and prior art will permit.

I claim:

1. In a call registering means for an elevator system having a car movable between a plurality of landings, means for dispatching said car to a landing, an electronic gas filled tube corresponding to each landing and having a grid and a cathode, said grid normally maintained at a negative voltage with relation to the cathode, said tube arranged in said car dispatching means, means corresponding to each landing for making the grid positive in relation to the cathode of the tube corresponding to that landing, said means for dispatching the car to said landing operated upon making the grid positive in relation to the cathode of said tube, means for stopping movement of the car upon said car reaching said landing and means for returning the grid of the tube corresponding to said landing to normal negative voltage, upon said car reaching the landing and to stop movement of the car thereat.

2. In a call registering means for an elevator system having a car movable to a selected landing of a plurality of landings, means for initiating movement of a car to a selected landing, means for stopping movement of the car at the selected landing, a gas filled tube corresponding to each landing and having a grid and a cathode, said grid normally maintained at negative voltage with relation to the cathode, said tube being non-conductive when said grid is maintained at negative voltage in relation to the cathode and being conductive when the grid is maintained at a positive voltage in relation to the cathode, said tube and said means for initiating movement of the car being connected in a normally open circuit, said circuit being closed upon making said tube conductive, means corresponding to each landing for making conductive the tube corresponding to the landing corresponding to the means for making the ,tube conductive and a selector having a member for each landing, said member for making the tube for the corresponding landing non-conductive upon the elevator car reaching said landing, said means for stopping movement of the car being arranged in a circuit that is normally open when the tube for a floor is non-conductive and is closed when the tube for a floor is non-conductivee.

3. A selector for starting and stopping movement of an elevator car to and at a selected landing of a plurality of landings, means for initiating movement of the car to a selected landing, means for stopping movement of the car at the selected landing, a gas filled tube for each landing and being normally non-conductive, means corresponding to each landing for making conductive the tube for said landing, said means for initiating movement of the car to a selected landing being arranged in a normally open first circuit, said first circuit being closed when the tube for the selected landing is made conductive to initiate movement of the car to the selected landing, said means for stopping movement of the car being arranged in a second circuit which is normally open, said second circuit being open when the tube for an non-selected landing is non-conductive and said second circuit being closed when the tube for the selected landing is conductive whereby the car is stopped at the selected landing.

4. In a call registering means for an elevator system having a car movable between a plurality of landings, a bank of gas filled electronic tubes arranged in normally open parallel circuits, across a primary circuit, each tube of the bank of tubes corresponding to one of the plurality of landings, each tube normally being non-conductive, a means for closing the parallel circuit arranged in each parallel circuit, the tube in a parallel circuit becoming conductive upon closing the circuit in which said tube is arranged, means for initiating movement of the car to a landing, the tube corresponding to which has been made conductive, means for stopping movement of the car upon the car reaching the landing corresponding to the tube which has been made conductive and means for making non-conductive the tube corresponding thereto upon the car stopping movement at the landing corresponding to said last mentioned tube.

5. In a call registering means for an elevator system, a bank of gas filled electronic floor valves arranged in normally open parallel circuits across a primary circuit, a means for closing each parallel circuit arranged in said parallel circuit, a selector, said selector having a stationary side, each floor valve connected to said stationary side at spaced intervals, a movable member in the selector constituting the other side thereof, said movable member movable from one end of the stationary side of the selector to the other end thereof to separate and isolate floor valves connected to one end of the selector from the floor valves connected to the other end of the selector With said movable member therebetween, a direction finding gas filled electronic tube connected to one end of the selector at the stationary side thereof, and a second direction finding gas filled electronic tube connected to the other end of the selector at the stationary side thereof, the floor valves constituting two groups, one group on one side of the stationary member and the other group on the other side of the stationary member, the first direction finding tube being connected in parallel with the first mentioned group of floor valves and the second direction finding tube being connected in parallel with the second mentioned group of floor valves, said floor valves being normally non-conductive and being fired upon closing the parallel circuit in which the floor valve is arranged, said direction finding tubes being normally non-conductive and becoming conductive upon firing a floor valve of the group with which said direction finding tube is connected in series.

6. In a call registering means for an elevator system, a bank of gas filled electronic floor valves, one of said floor valves corresponding to a floor of the elevator system, a selector having a stationary side, each floor valve connected to said stationary side at spaced intervals, a movable member in the selector and constituting the other side thereof, said movable member movable from one end of the stationary side of the selector to the other end thereof, and a pair of direction finding, gas filled electronic valves, said floor valves and said direction finding valves being normally non-conductive, said selector, floor valves and direction finding valves being coupled in a series-parallel network circuit comprising a plurality of parallel circuits across one side of the line and the stationary side of the selectors, in each parallel circuit of which a floor valve is arranged and a pair of series circuits, one of which series circuits is coupled to one end of the stationary side of the selector and the other side of the line and the other of which series circuits is coupled to the other end of the stationary side of the selector and the other side of the line, a first direction finding valve in a first series circuit and a second direction finding valve in a second series circuit, a means for selectively closing each parallel circuit to fire the floor valve in said circuit and one of the direction finding valves, the movable member of the selector isolating one end of the selector from the other end thereof and coupled to a means for stopping movement of the elevator car connected to the other side of the line.

'7. In a call registering means for an elevator system having an elevator car, movable between a lower landing and an upper landing, a circuit network comprising a plurality of parallel circuits across one side of a main line and one side of a selector, a pair of direction finding circuits,

a first direction finding circuit across one end of said side of the selector corresponding to the lower landing and the other side of the main line and the second direction finding circuit across the other end of said side of the selector corresponding to the upper landing and a call cancelling circuit across a second side of the selector and the other side of the main line, a normally non-conducting trigger tube in each parallel circuit and means across each parallel branch for selectively making conductive the tube in said branch.

8. In a call registering means for an elevator system having an elevator car movable between a lower landing and an upper landing to a selected landing of a plurality of landings, a supply line, a circuit network comprising a plurality of circuits connected in parallel across one side of the line and one side of a selector, a trigger tube, normally non-conductive, in each parallel branch, the anode of each tube connected to said side of the line and the cathode of each tube connected to the selector and the grid of each tube connected across the line to selectively make conductive said tube.

9. The call registering means of claim 8, a first direction finding circuit across the end of the selector corresponding to the lower landing at said side of the selector and the second side of the line and a second direction finding circuit across the end of the selector corresponding to the upper landing at said side of the selector and the second side of the line.

10. In a call registering means for an elevator system having an elevator car movable between a lower landing and an upper landing to a selected landing of a plurality of landings, a supply line, a circuit network comprising a plurality of circuits connected in parallel across one side of the line and one side of a selector, a trigger tube, normally non-conductive, in each parallel branch, the anode of each tube connected to said side of the line and the cathode of each tube connected to the selector and means connected across each tube to selectively make con ductive said tube.

11. The call registering means of claim 10, a first direction findin circuit across the end of the selector corresponding to the lower landing at said side of the selector and the second side of the line and a second direction finding circuit across the end of the selector corresponding to the upper landing at said side of the selector and the second side of the line.

12. In a call registering means for an elevator system having a movable elevator car, a bank of gas filled electronic floor valves arranged in normally open parallel circuits across a primary circuit, each valve corresponding to a fioor and normally non-conductive, a means for closing each parallel circuit arranged in said parallel circuit for making conductive the floor valve in the circuit, a floor selector, means for dispatching the elevator car to a selected floor upon making conductive the electronic floor valve corresponding to said floor, said fioor selector having a first side and a second side, each floor valve connected to said first side at spaced intervals, a means for stopping movement of the car at a selected floor connected to the second side, said fioor valves connected to one end of the selector separated and isolated from the floor valves connected to the other end of the selector by the said stopping means, a direction finding gas filled electronic tube connected to one end of the selector at the first side thereof, and a second direction finding gas filled electronic tube connected to the other end of the selector at the first side thereof, the fioor valves constituting two groups, one group on one side of the stopping mean and the other group on the other side of the stopping means, the first direction finding tube being connected in parallel with the first mentioned group of floor valves and the second direction finding tube being connected in parallel with the second mentioned group of fioor valves, said floor valves being normally non-conductive and being fired upon closing the parallel circuit in which the floor valve is arranged, said direction finding tubes being normally non-conductive and becoming conductive upon firing a floor valve of the group with which said direction finding tube is connected in series.

JOSEPH DI GIOVANNI.

No references cited. 

